Three dead at party after man in Santa suit opens fire, police say

Posted in Uncategorized by Patrick Truax on December 25, 2008

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — At least three people were found dead after a man dressed as Santa Claus started shooting at a Christmas Eve party in suburban Los Angeles, police said Thursday.Bruce Jeffery Pardo is a “person of interest” in the incident, authorities say.

Bruce Jeffery Pardo is a “person of interest” in the incident, authorities say.

Bruce Jeffery Pardo is a “person of interest” in the incident, authorities say.

An 8-year-old girl and a woman in her 20s were hospitalized with gunshot wounds that authorities do not consider life-threatening.

Crews took a third person to a hospital with an injury that wasn’t life-threatening and wasn’t caused by gunfire, said police in Covina, a city about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The shooting started around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

When police arrived at the two-story house, they discovered a fire that caused “significant damage.” Authorities found three people dead inside but said they do not know how the three died. Their identities had not been released Thursday morning.

“There was some source of ignition that caused the fire,” Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan said at a news conference Thursday morning. “We’ve not been able to identify it yet.”